<b>15 </b>


    Sienna’s POV


    Emily walked toward her vanity, never sparing me another nce. She dried her hair briskly, as if trying to wipe away the awkwardness of my presence. She ced the towel on the chair, then looked at me through the mirror.


    “If you want to help, just do it from outside. I don’t like people touching my personal things, especially in my room,” she added, her voice now sharp enough to cut through bone.


    I took a slow breath, holding back the anger that pressed heavily in my chest. I hadn’t even wanted to be in <b>this </b>room. But out <b>of </b>duty–out of a routine I still tried to uphold even though I knew my ce had been reced–I came.


    “Alright,” I said quietly. I lowered my gaze and reached for the folded clothes I <b>hadn’t </b>yet set down.


    “Sienna,” she called suddenly, stopping me at the <b>door</b>.


    I turned my head slowly.


    Emily wa


    staring at me, eyes narrowed. “I know you don’t like having me here. But don’t think you can win anyone’s sympathy in this house just by acting sweet or pitiful. I’ve had enough of your fake kindness.”


    My chest tightened. My tongue felt like stone.


    I wanted to speak. <b>I </b>wanted to say that nothing about me was fake. But what was the point? Nothing I said would change anything. In their eyes, I was the one left behind. The useless one. The burden growing heavier each day in a home that no longer <b>had </b><b>a </b>ce for me.


    With my head bowed, I opened the door and stepped out. My legs felt heavy, but I walked away anyway. I closed the door gently behind me, careful not to let it creak. I didn’t want to add another sound to a silence already painful enough.


    I was still holding a few pieces of clothing meant for Noah’s room. But now, even that felt like too much.


    What Emily didn’t realize was <b>that </b>what she insulted wasn’t just my attitude–but every ounce of effort I had poured <b>into </b>surviving in a house that no longer <b>saw </b>me.


    I made my way slowly toward Noah’s room, the folded clothes still in my arms. After what had just happened with Emily, my chest was still tight. But I kept moving, tried to stay busy–one task after another–anything to keep my mind from drowning in a pain that never seemed to end.


    I gently pushed open Noah’s door. I returned his clothes to the wardrobe, folded them neatly, ced them in the drawers like I always had.


    ?


    am rang out from downstairs.


    But just as I was about to close thest drawer, a scream rang


    “My ring is gone! My ring is gone<b>!</b>”


    I froze. It was <b>Emily’s </b>voice.


    Without <b>thinking</b>, I rushed out of Noah’s room and down the stairs. I could hear other footsteps–Liaming out of his study, his face <b>tense</b>, and Noah running from the yroom.


    “What happened?” Liam asked quickly, looking at Emily, who was standing in the middle of the living room. Her breath was uneven, her hair still <b>damp</b>, her face a <b>mix </b>of panic and fury.


    Emily turned to him, her eyes red. “My ring! The diamond ring I just put <b>in </b>my jewelry box yesterday–it’s gone!”


    I stood frozen on thest step, my body tensing for reasons I didn’t yet understand… until Emily turned to face me.


    “You were in my room earlier, weren’t you, Sienna?”


    I frowned, confused. “Yes… I was just dropping off <b>the </bundry.”


    eetnerson


    Emily narrowed her eyes. “And now… the diamond ring is missing. I think it’s pretty clear who was thest <b>person </b>in that


    room.”


    My heart started pounding. My breath caught. “<b>What </b>are you saying? Are you using me?”


    “If not you, then who else?” she snapped, her voice shaking. “You were in there–and now the ring is gone! I never gave anyone permission to touch that jewelry box.”


    I shook my head slowly, trying to stay calm even as a chill ran down my <b>spine</b>.


    “Emily, I never touched your things. I would never steal,”


    “<b>This </b>is unbelievable,” she hissed, her voice rising dramatically. “You actually had the nerve to steal from me–after I’ve tried to be nice to you!”


    “Enough!” Liam’s voice thundered through the room. His eyes locked on me. “Is it true? Were you the only one who went into Emily’s room today?”


    I didn’t answer right away. His tone–why did it sound like that? Why was there no doubt in his voice?


    I looked at Liam, searching. Hoping. Hoping for even a flicker of uncertainty in his expression. Hoping he would say that I couldn’t possibly have done it. But no. All I saw was a hard re. Cold. using.


    “Answer me, Sienna,” Liam repeated. “Did you go into Emily’s room?”


    I nodded slowly, “<b>Yes</b>, but only to drop off the clothes.”


    Suddenly, Noah ran toward Emily and wrapped his arms around her waist. “Don’t be sad, Auntie Emily. Mommy’s mean, right? She <b>even </b>stole your ring.”


    Π


    The words hit harder than anything else.


    “Noah, Mommy didn’t-”


    “I haté Mommy!” he shouted before I could finish<b>. </b>“Auntie Emily is better! She never yells at me or causes trouble!”


    Tears welled in my eyes instantly, but I held them back. I looked at my <b>son</b>–the child I’d raised alone since he was a baby. The child who once couldn’t sleep unless he was curled against me. Now… he was hugging someone else and using me <b>without </b>


    hesitation.


    Liam took a deep breath. “We’ll look for the ring. But if it turns out you took it… I’ll never forgive you.”


    I wanted to speak. To shout that I would never do such a thing. But the words… were gone. Shattered. Lost in a wound that had


    already cut too deep.


    Emily bent down to hug Noah, stroking his hair as though she were the hero in this chaos.


    And me?


    I <b>stood </b>there. In my own home. used of stealing. Hated by my son. Suspected by my husband.